When you are carrying out an interview with a potential new employee, you need to make sure you ask the right questions. The right questions are ones which will enable you to get responses on which you can take a recruitment decision:

You only get one chance to make a first impression and the way in which you deal with the applicant throughout the interview process will say a lot about you and the business.

If you decide to make an offer and the candidate has more than one offer – you want them to chose you and the better their experiences with you, the more comfortable your interactions and the more professional and organised you appear, the more likely you are to secure the applicant of your choice.

Never forget that recruitment is a two way process – they have to choose to apply and then choose to complete the application process and then choose to accept an offer!

Testing applicants is a great way of determining whether they can actually do the job you need them to do. You can test for skills, aptitude, personality etc. There are hundreds of tests on the market and selecting the right one is really important. You also need to ensure you know what a pass or fail looks like and why.

When you are recruiting, you could end up with hundreds of applications, once you have sorted the ‘not a chance’ from the ‘possible’, telephone interviewing is a great way of producing a manageable long list (or short list, if you are able to be that tight on your criteria).

Work out what your key questions are – if they MUST be able to drive, or MUST hold a specific qualification or MUST be able to work evenings, then these questions should form part of your telephone screening process.

Do make sure that you don’t inadvertently introduce any discrimination – you can ask any question, it is how you do it which matters!!!

Before you can recruit your staff, you need a pool of applicants to choose from. You need to attract applicants to your business and to the role. This is no different to any other marketing exercise. It is about getting your message clear, knowing who your market is and deciding on the right media to use.

In this short video, HR Specialist Donna Obstfeld shares one of our 52 top tips.

Job descriptions are essential tools for recruiting, managing and rewarding employees. In the first of our 52 top tips, HR Specialist Donna Obstfeld talks about how Job Descriptions are the starting point for successful recruitment.

“Following Aleksandra King’s shock departure from The Apprentice last night, we’d like to interview you about people who walk out of jobs with no notice”

Me: “Thanks for that, I haven’t watched it yet”

Anyway, with my normal professionalism, I then proceeded to discuss the reasons why people leave a job without giving notice and what (if anything) you can / should / could do about it.

Here are the headlines:

People will leave a job with immediate effect if:

They (or an immediate family member) have an illness which needs the employee’s time and energy –

In this instance there is not a lot that you should do, except offer support and, depending on circumstances, flexibility.

If they are a long standing member of staff with an elderly sick parent, you may be able to find a mutually beneficial arrangement which doesn’t lose you all that expertise in a matter of minutes.

They have a new job starting on Monday morning –

Check their contract of employment (if they don’t have one…. Why not?).

Specifically look at their notice periods and restrictive covenants – are they in breach of contract?

Do you have any financial penalties in the event that they breach their contract?

If not, it is a bit late now, but learn this lesson for future.

If you do, now is the time to decide whether you want to enforce the contract.

You may need a solicitor to help you do so, but take a quick decision and get some advice immediately

They are planning on taking you to an employment tribunal and the working environment has become so ‘untenable’ that they are resigning with immediate effect and claiming constructive dismissal –

Now it’s a bit more complicated than this, but if an employee has taken advice and they have been advised to take a constructive dismissal claim, they may well walk out without giving you any notice.

If you think that this is a possibility, perhaps because you were aware that the employee was unhappy or there were issues – be very careful with your next step and ensure that you get advice. You need to be able to defend yourself in an employment tribunal if this is the plan

They just can’t take IT any more –

You may never know what IT is, but it could be the journey, their boss, their colleagues, the work, their clients or any number of other things.

Some people will not fight, not say a word, just walk away and move on to other, ‘better’ things.

In all cases, you will not need to pay notice pay as it is them who has failed to provide you with the appropriate notice. However, you cannot deduct any pay due (hours worked or accrued untaken holiday), unless your contract gives you express legal permission to do so. For this reason some people will chose to walk out just after pay day or just after a bonus or commission payment.

At this point I’m going to let you in on a secret!

The Contract of Employment is essential, it is your bible, it is your how to guide, it is your obligations towards your employees and their obligations towards you…… However, it is not worth the paper it is written on unless you are prepared to enforce it!

If you, as the employer, breach the contract of employment, you can legitimately find yourself defending your actions in an Employment Tribunal. However, if the employee breaches their contract of employment there is very little you can do. If they are still employed, you can of course discipline them. But, if they have walked out without giving you notice, or they go to work for the competition or they poach staff and / or clients …. there is no Employment Tribunal for you the employer to go to. You would have to take them to court for breach of contract! Fair… No! The way it is….. Yes!, Stressful…. Yes!, Expensive…. Probably!

At DOHR, we have a slight work around which we are beginning to use for some clients,but ultimately this element of employment law is heavily weighted in favour of the employee – so be aware.

If you want to know how we can rewrite your contracts to afford you greater protection, get in touch with us now on 01923 504100.